I just don’t get it, Father. Why can’t people see that You and only You is God and things are going to get real bad for those that don’t accept Your Son? I am so looking forward to meeting Jesus face to face.
Another thing I can understand is that a lot of people think that some people are Christians and they are not. I think those that say they are and aren’t, but are not willing to change their disgusting habits.
While we’re on that subject, tomorrow we’ll look at…
Revelation 6
Six of the Seals Opened
1 And I saw when the Lamb opened one of the seals, and I heard, as it were the noise of thunder, one of the four beasts saying, Come and see.
“Seals’ – the first of three seven fold numbered series of judgments (cf. the seven trumpets in chapters 8-9 and the seven vials in chapter 16).
2 And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer.
“White horse” – the imagery of the four horsemen comes from Zech 1:8-17, 6:1-8. The colors in Revelation correspond to the character of the rider; white symbolizes conquest.
As described in several translations, this fiery red horse with its rider who carried a great, huge sword had the assignment to bring unrest, upheaval and even war to mankind.
Civil unrest, demonstrations, anarchy, rioting and revolution all form part of this red horse’s agenda to rob earth of her peace. A complete breakdown of law and order.
Major interpretations of the rider on the white horse are:
1. Christ (cf. 19:11),
2. The Antichrist and
3. The Spirit of conquest.
The latter establishes a more natural sequence with the other three riders (which symbolizes bloodshed, famine and death).
“Bow” – a battle weapons.
“Crown” – see note on 2:10.
3 And when he had opened the second seal, I heard the second beast say, Come and see.
4 And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword.
“Horse that was red” – symbolizing bloodshed and war (cf. Zech 1:8, 6:2).
“They should kill one another” – if the white horse is conquest from without, the red horse may be internal revolution.
5 And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
“Black horse” – symbolizing famine (cf. Zech 6:2, 6). The sequence is thus conquest, bloodshed, and famine.
“Pair of balances” – a balance beam with scales hung from either end. Weights were originally stones.
6 And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine.
“Wheat…barley” – one quart of wheat would be enough for only one person. Three quarts of the less nutritious barley would be barely enough for a small family. Famine had inflated prices to at least ten times their normal level – an entire day’s wages just for some food.
In the Bible, a balance or scale represents not only commerce and economy but justice and judgement as well. This black horse’s rider was holding a pair of scales in his hand. Then I heard what sounded like a voice among the four living creatures, saying, “A quart of wheat for a day’s wages, and three quarts of barley for a day’s wages, and do not damage the oil and the wine!”
Economic upheaval – hyperinflation or depression or whatever name you choose to give it predominates and everything that comes with it. Foreclosures, food shortages, run on the banks, governments fiscal house in default and soup lines if there is soup to be found. The end result for many is famine.
“Oil and the wine” – There was even less of these precious commodities.
7 And when he had opened the fourth seal, I heard the voice of the fourth beast say, Come and see.
8 And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth.
“Pale Horse” – describes the ashen appearance of the dead; it symbolizes death.
“Hell” – equal to Hebrew Sheol.
9 And when he had opened the fifth seal, I saw under the altar the souls of them that were slain for the word of God, and for the testimony which they held:
“Slain for the word of God” – these are the souls of many tribulation saints.
10 And they cried with a loud voice, saying, How long, O Lord, holy and true, dost thou not judge and avenge our blood on them that dwell on the earth?
“Them that dwell on the earth” – a regular designation in Revelation for mankind in its hostility to God. These are those that oppose God, receive the mark of the beast and on whom the tribulation is focused.
11 And white robes were given unto every one of them; and it was said unto them, that they should rest yet for a little season, until their fellow servants also and their brethren, that should be killed as they were, should be fulfilled.
“Until their fellow servants…should be fulfilled” – Jewish thought held that God rules the world according to a predetermined time schedule and that the end awaits the death of a certain number of the righteous. God will avenge, but only in due time.
12 And I beheld when he had opened the sixth seal, and, lo, there was a great earthquake; and the sun became black as sackcloth of hair, and the moon became as blood;
“Moon became as blood” – see Joel 2:31, quoted by Peter in his Pentecost sermon (Acts 2:20).
The horse had been bruised and was emaciated. On it sat Death and was quickly followed by Hell.
They were given power over a fourth of the earth to kill by sword, famine, pestilence and plague and by the wild beasts of the earth.
It is a compilation of all the others horses and what they bring with them in during the Apocalypse and the end-times.
Those horses are representations of the winds of different spirits which are now become unleashed and begun their ride throughout the earth.
13 And the stars of heaven fell unto the earth, even as a fig tree casteth her untimely figs, when she is shaken of a mighty wind.
14 And the heaven departed as a scroll when it is rolled together; and every mountain and island were moved out of their places.
15 And the kings of the earth, and the great men, and the rich men, and the chief captains, and the mighty men, and every bondman, and every free man, hid themselves in the dens and in the rocks of the mountains;
16 And said to the mountains and rocks, Fall on us, and hide us from the face of him that sitteth on the throne, and from the wrath of the Lamb:
“The wrath of the Lamb” – God’s wrath is a theme that permeates New Testament theology. It is both present (see Rom 1:18) and future (see 19:15). It is prophesied in the Old Testament (Zeph 1:14-18; Nah 1:6; Mal 3:2).
According to the pre-tribulation rapture, the church is removed before the tribulation begins, and thus does not experience God’s wrath (1 Thess 5:9).
17 For the great day of his wrath is come; and who shall be able to stand?
The Four Horsemen
The four horsemen are symbolic descriptions of different events which will take place in the end times.
The first horseman of the Apocalypse is mentioned in the 6th chapter:
“And I saw, and behold a white horse: and he that sat on him had a bow; and a crown was given unto him: and he went forth conquering, and to conquer” (Rev 6:2).
This first horseman likely refers to the Antichrist, who will be given authority and will conquer all who oppose him. The antichrist is the false imitator of the true Christ, who will also return on a white horse.
And I saw heaven opened, and behold a white horse; and he that sat upon him was called Faithful and True, and in righteousness he doth judge and make war.
His eyes were as a flame of fire, and on his head were many crowns; and he had a name written, that no man knew, but he himself.
And he was clothed with a vesture dipped in blood: and his name is called The Word of God.
And the armies which were in heaven followed him upon white horses, clothed in fine linen, white and clean.
Depending on the viewpoint of the reader, or the seeker, the rider on the white horse carries with him a bow, without an arrow curiously, and a crown.
The rider is set out to conquer and impose his mindset upon the masses in the end-times – by force if necessary.
However, because it carries an arrowless bow and not a sword, it is highly unlikely that it is The Christ.
Rather, one of many mini “antichrists” claiming to be the way for the masses.
Some say that the White Horse represents…
Mitt Romney And The New World Order or The AntiChrist.?
Will a Mitt Romney bring about the Apocalyptic ‘White Horse Prophecy’ as spoken of by Joseph Smith, the founder of the Mormon religion?
If so, is the man riding in on the ‘White Horse’ the ‘antichrist’ himself?
This “White Horse Rider” will be Satan’s “SUPERMAN”.
The Scriptures clearly teach that there is some day to arise a human being who shall be the embodiment of all Satanic power.
He will be known as the “WILLFUL KING” because he shall do according to his own will.
He will be the Czar of Czars. He will have no respect for sacred things or places.
This powerful
Just as Barack Obama has had his role in bringing about a ‘new world order’, so will Mitt Romney when, he, too, is ‘crowned king’… some feel a far greater role than that previously held by his forerunner, Barack Obama, according to the legendary ‘White Horse Prophecy’.
And out of his mouth goeth a sharp sword, that with it he should smite the nations: and he shall rule them with a rod of iron: and he treadeth the winepress of the fierceness and wrath of Almighty God.
“And he hath on his vesture and on his thigh a name written, King Of Kings, And Lord Of Lords” (Rev 19:11-16).
The second horseman of the Apocalypse appears in:
“And there went out another horse that was red: and power was given to him that sat thereon to take peace from the earth, and that they should kill one another: and there was given unto him a great sword” (Rev 6:4).
The second horseman refers to terrible warfare that will break out in the end times.
The third horseman is described in:
“And when he had opened the third seal, I heard the third beast say, Come and see. And I beheld, and lo a black horse; and he that sat on him had a pair of balances in his hand.
And I heard a voice in the midst of the four beasts say, A measure of wheat for a penny, and three measures of barley for a penny; and see thou hurt not the oil and the wine” (Rev 6:5-6).
The third horseman of the Apocalypse refers to a great famine that will take place, likely as a result of the wars from the second horseman.
The fourth horseman is mentioned in:
And I looked, and behold a pale horse: and his name that sat on him was Death, and Hell followed with him. And power was given unto them over the fourth part of the earth, to kill with sword, and with hunger, and with death, and with the beasts of the earth (Rev 6:8).
The fourth horseman of the Apocalypse is symbolic of death and devastation. It seems to be a combination of the previous horsemen.
The fourth horseman of the Apocalypse will bring further warfare and terrible famines along with awful plagues and diseases.
What is most amazing, or perhaps terrifying, is that the four horsemen of the Apocalypse are just “precursors” of even worse judgments that come later in the tribulation (Rev chapters 8-9 and 16).
…can practicing homosexuality and still walk with Jesus? (1 Cor 10:21).